Monsters of the Past
by Bralt
Summary: It's been a while since Will got back from Skandia and he's offered a mission to go to a place that he really has no desire to return to. Will it be a quiet mission like it was supposed to be or will he and Halt run into an unwanted visitor?
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I do not own Ranger's Apprentice or any of its characters**

**Okay so this story is going to be cowritten with the amazing author Mychele O'Carrik of Clonmel:) Right now it's me writing (I believe my name is Bralt)**

Setting the full cup of coffee down on the table in front of Will, Halt took his own seat across from Will with his own cup of coffee. Halt took a sip of the drink that he treasured; despite the hot weather, coffee was still his drink of choice. After a while of silence, Halt decided to tell Will about the message he had received from Crowley a few days previously, discussing a special mission and an opportunity to gather some new information. The only problem was he wasn't sure if Will would be willing to go; they would be venturing into the Mountains of Rain and Night which didn't hold any pleasant memories for the young apprentice.

"When are we going to go on a mission outside of Redmont?" Will asked before Halt could say anything. Halt raised an eyebrow at him; they had been going on several small missions in the past few months capturing robbers and other assorted criminals.

"Not enough action around here for you?" Halt asked in his deep voice before taking an appreciative sip of his drink. Will squirmed a little in his chair; that had been exactly what he had been thinking.

"Well, it seems that everybody else gets all the good missions lately." Will argued. It was true, Gilan had been given an assignment to chase down a big group of rebels that had been causing havoc all across the kingdom, and it was more exciting than chasing down the petty thieves that Will and Halt had been catching.

Halt looked at his apprentice; the truth was that he had declined the chance to take that mission because he wasn't sure whether Will was ready for it. True, it had been a while since Will had been captured in Skandia, and his skills were almost back to perfect, but Halt didn't think that it was the best choice of a big mission to start Will back up again. Instead, he had waited to see if anything else arose and he was rewarded with the mission of going into the Mountains of Rain and Night to scout the area out. It didn't seem like a dangerous mission and it would be more exciting than catching thieves around Redmont like they had been doing.

"I doubt chasing criminals across the kingdom would be considered exciting." Halt took another sip of his coffee waiting for Will's reply.

"Why are we just staying in Redmont though?" Will's apprentice years so far had been more adventurous then most and Halt had the feeling that Will didn't know that.

"Well if you're so bent up on leaving, then you'll be glad to hear that Crowley has offered us a mission." Halt said in his grim tone before taking another sip of coffee.

Will's face split into a smile and his eyes lit up; he was tired of chasing robbers and he was ready for a real challenge. "What is it? When are we going? Where are we going?" Will asked quickly, he could barely control himself, but managed to calm down somewhat when Halt raised his eyebrows once again.

"Well, if you'd give me time then I just might have told you," Halt answered his young apprentice who seemed to be a little deflated. Halt nodded once and then took another sip of his coffee, testing Will's patience for as long as he could. Eventually, Will started tapping the table and shifting in his chair and Halt decided it was time to end the suffering. "Crowley wants us to go scout out an area and report what we find there. It's an area we don't know much about so this is an important mission but I doubt it will be as exciting as the other adventurous you have gone on." Halt looked at his apprentice debating his next words. "You don't have to go through." Will looked shocked.

"Why wouldn't I want to go?" Will asked almost immediately after Halt finished talking; he couldn't think of any reason he wouldn't want to.

"Because we would be heading into the Mountains of Rain and Night, and I know that it wasn't the best place for you." Halt said with a little comfort but not so much as to be evident. The subject of Will's capture had been a touchy subject for them both, even though Halt couldn't have been more proud of the decisions Will made that had led up to it.

Will's mind stopped thinking of questions and he froze for a moment, one of his worst memories surfacing. _Will was back at the bridge hiding behind a rock and firing as the Skandians popped up from their hiding places. Some meters away Evanlyn was trying to get the second fire to start back up again as the other half gave a shudder and started to collapse. Finally Evanlyn got the fire to catch and was rushing towards him. But she was too late as a rock was hurled at him and smashed into the side of his head. Will's hand released his bow as he rushed towards the ground with a throbbing in the side of his head. He thought he heard somebody approaching as the darkness enveloped him and took him into a deep sleep. _Will shook his head, sweeping the memory away. Halt noticed and decided to wait for Will's answer, but when nothing came he sighed and finished his coffee.

"Like I said Will, you don't have to go with me. I'm sure Crowley would be more than willing to teach you while I'm away." Halt said. Will thought over what Halt had proposed; he was reluctant to leave his mentor after all they had been through, but he had no good memories in the mountains, so he wasn't too fond of returning. Will still didn't answer; he didn't know what to say. "How about we go to Araluen and see Crowley for more details; then you can decide what you want to do?" Halt told his apprentice; he knew that Will wouldn't jump into it and he didn't blame him. Will nodded numbly. "We'll leave tomorrow at first light so we can get there as soon as possible." Halt stood, signaling that the conversation was over. He walked over to the stove to pour himself another cup of coffee. "You should go take care of Tug so we don't have to take too much time tomorrow," Halt said as he turned around.

Will stood without answering, still in his own memories of being captured, he couldn't seem to escape. He didn't even realize he was at the shelter they kept the horses in until Tug butted gently against his shoulder. Will smiled at his horse who seemed to know he wasn't as happy as usual. Will patted Tug and started to brush him down. Tug butted against Will again, seeming to be trying to get the boy to talk. Will smiled again.

"It's nothing Tug, just some memories." Will said into his horse's ear. When Tug looked back at Will, his horse's eyes seemed unconvinced. "I might have to go back to the Mountains of Rain and Night." Will said finally relenting and letting his horse know. "I don't want to let Halt down, but I'm not too fond of the idea of going back in there." Tug bobbed his head; not only had Will's time of capture been difficult for Halt, but Tug as well.

The rest of the night went by in somewhat of a dream; Halt had gotten their packs ready while Will had been taking care of Tug, then while Will went to bed early, Halt went to take care of Abelard. Will, however, lay awake in his bed. He couldn't shake the memories of his experience in the mountains. Finally, he fell into a fitful sleep consisting of dreams filled with Morgorath, Wolfships, and torture. When morning came Will didn't need to be awoken, several times during the night he had woken in a cold sweat only to find that he was in the safety of the cabin he and Halt shared. Feeling as tired as he had been when he had gone to sleep, Will got dressed and headed out to the kitchen and took a seat at the table across from Halt, where a plate of eggs, bacon and toast and a cup of coffee waited for him.

When they had finished their quiet meal, Halt sent Will to clean the plates and silverware, while he packed some last minute items. When Will returned and they put the dishes back in their places, they went to saddle Tug and Abelard. In another ten minutes they were off with the sun just starting to rise at their backs. Another ten minutes and they were riding through forest, their cloaks shifting slightly in the light breeze. For the first couple of hours they rode in complete silence except for the slight sound of the horses' hoof beats, Halt naturally quiet and Will lost in thought. Finally, Will got tired of the silence and looked at Halt who rode beside him.

"Halt?" He asked, a bit too subdued for his usual self. Halt grunted in reply and Will took it as a sign to go on. "Do you think we'll meet any wargals?" Will knew that the race had been practically demolished in the last war but it seemed impossible to him that all of the wargals had been destroyed. Halt thought a moment before replying.

"Honestly, I don't know, but if we do I doubt they'll be of any threat. Nobody inhabits those mountains and they need a superior mind controlling them in order for them to do anything productive." Halt said after a moment. Will nodded, accepting the answer.

"Is it really possible to scout out the entire range of the mountains?" Will asked, getting back to his usual curious self.

"We're going to find out but yes, I believe it is. If you think about it, it really isn't that big a place, it's just mountainous so it makes it seem bigger than it really is," Halt answered, glad that his apprentice was getting better.

"How long do you think it will take?" Will asked after a few minutes of considering what question he should ask.

"I don't know exactly what we'll be doing, the letter just said that we needed to scout out the area and gather information." Halt shrugged. "Crowley will give us more information when we get to Araluen."

"Do you think that it'll be dangerous?" Will asked. Halt sighed and Will thought that he might have gone too far with the questions.

"What is it with this boy and questions?" Halt asked Abelard exasperated. As if knowing what his master was saying, Abelard shook his head violently. Under his cowl the corners of Halt's mouth twitched upward for a moment at the look on Will's face.

The next few days went by uneventfully; for the moment Will had forgotten the memories but he was still unsure about whether he wanted to venture back into the mountains. He promised himself that he would decide after the meeting with Crowley. Eventually, they crested the final hill and the castle was revealed.

Will had seen the castle before, but the beauty was never lost on him. Before them lay one of the most magnificent castles ever to be built: the huge stone walls soared into the clear sky above, magnificent in breadth and width. Even higher still, the castle towers curved against the lofty blue, seeming to scrape the dome of heaven with their battlemented crowns. Banners and pendants streamed in the wind atop each tower; it was anyone's guess how many such a gigantic castle had. They rode up to the crossing of the moat; the drawbridge was pulled up, temporarily concealing the formidable iron gate that Will was sure existed behind it. A loud voice hailed them from the wall:

"Who goes there, and what business do you have at Castle Araluen?"


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N You have found chapter two of Mychele O'Carrik and the UH-MAZING Bralt's cowritten story! DING DING DING! Coffee all around;) This part is written by me, Mychele, and beta-fied by Bralt. Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: This story haz bean dizclaym'd. we iz getting no moneyz fer dis. Ranger's Apprentice belongs to John Flanagan**

* * *

Arrival at Castle Araluen

"Who goes there? What is your business at castle Araluen?"

"King's Rangers!" called Halt, holding out his silver Oakleaf. The guard looked them over for a moment then, apparently deciding they actually were Rangers, turned inside calling, "King's Rangers below! Lower the bridge!" With a loud grating noise, the bridge came slowly down on the massive chains. Will watched in awe. Once it was fully down, Will could see there was indeed a formidable iron gate: vertical and horizontal bars, with spikes on the end of the vertical ones, to anchor into the ground. They rode across as it too was drawn open for their passage. The same guard as before again stopped them, to get a closer look and verify their identities. That done, they were finally admitted into the outer courtyard. It was teeming with activity. Stable hands leading various horses, messengers and couriers striding busily past, even a few Knights in chainmail and swords walking importantly. A particular Knight looked familiar…

"Horace! Hullo!" Will waved brightly. Halt looked at him from deep within his cowl.

"You just advertised our arrival to the whole courtyard," he said, mild reproof in his voice.

"Oh. Sorry Halt. Does it matter though? In castle Araluen?" Horace was approaching, a wide grin on his young face.

"It matters regardless of where you are." Will nodded in acceptance. Horace came up, and Will dismounted; they shook hands warmly, pounding each other on the back.

"Good to see you Will! It's been awhile. How've you been?"

"Long time no see Horace. I've been doing pretty well, but we've got some serious business with Crowley That's got me worried."

Horace nodded sympathetically and followed them to the stables, chatting excitedly with Will while Halt muttered something about "Gorlog help us," and "young people and talking."

After they had stabled Abelard and Tug, Horace showed them their room, in the Ranger quarter of the tower, while chatting animatedly with Will. He left them at the door with a wave, so they could get settled. It was basically a miniature of the typical Ranger cabin, with two bedrooms, a main room, and a stove for basic cooking. After they had washed and changed from their dirty travelling clothes, they made their way down to Crowley's office.

Will had never been in the commandant's office before, and his first impression of the room was paper. Lots of paper. Crowley appeared out from behind a large oaken table that served him as a desk. He'd literally been covered from their view in paperwork.

"Ah! Halt, Will, welcome to my overcrowded office. Too much paper has taken permanent residence here I'm afraid," he said dryly. "Have a seat." He gestured to two chairs piled in paper: envelopes, parchment, scrolls, and leather books. Seeming to remember the state of his chairs, Crowley swept their contents onto the rug carelessly.

"Don't bother with the uncaring stuff. Lot of good it does me, better off burning it," he grumbled. They took a seat as Halt spoke.

"Crowley, Will isn't sure whether or not he wants to take the mission. So, we came for more details, to help him decide."

Will fidgeted nervously.

"Well, that's perfectly alright, I understand your reticence. Here, let me find that old book on the subject." He rummaged about, peering into the towering shelves that covered the walls, constantly muttering to himself.

Finally drawing out a thick tome, he dropped it on the desk, sending up a flurry of dust. He coughed, waving his hand to disperse the particles, and wiped the cover with his hand, reading it aloud.

" 'On the matter of ye old beasts, leviathan creatures, and terrors, and their habits, living, and habiliment.' Huh, long over blown title. The whole thing is written in the old tongue, so it may be hard to make out."

"Will has been studying the old languages. Let's see if he was paying attention," said Halt.

Curiosity piqued, Will stood, peering over at the book. "May I?" he asked. Obligingly, Crowley swept his desk clear with the same disregard as earlier, and pushed the tome across to Will. Opening it to the first few pages, he found a sort of list of the contents, written in an ancient style; coupled with the old dialect, it was doubly hard to decipher.

He scanned over most of what it said until he saw a word that seemed oddly familiar.

VIII. The worst of the troublesome monsters, the Kralin Kara

At the familiar sounding name, Will flipped to the chapter, feeling a repulsive attraction to know what the beast was. On the lavishly decorated title page of the chapter, there was a full drawing of a cave full of horrid looking animals. They were toweringly tall, if the stalagmites in the background were any indication. They had long, long fur, which trailed on the ground and around their paws. It was matted and tangled, in a similar way to that of the Kalkara, which Will would never mention out loud, as such things were best forgotten. The Kralin Kara had long, ungainly arms which made them look weirdly unbalanced, and round head that seemingly attached directly to the torso, with no sign of a neck. Their vicious claws curled inwards, looking to be well over five inches long, and they had tusk-like teeth protruding from their bottom jaws. The eyes were small and intense, with no pupil, and either red or yellow in color. There was a whole group of them depicted, and worst of all, there was a man backed into a corner of the cave, with the gruesome animals approaching him. They looked to be far taller than the Kalkara; in fact, Will got the impression that this was actually an ancient form of Kalkara: larger, fiercer, and uglier than their descendants.

"Halt, l-look. Is this…?" Halt had been looking over his shoulder at the picture; he'd heard of Kralin Kara, but never seen them depicted. He wondered if the drawing was wholly factual: it could have been largely fictitious.

"Will, I wouldn't take it too seriously. It's probably based off of myth and lore of the time. If there are those creatures in the Mountains of Rain and Night, I doubt they will concern us anyway. They're not being controlled by anyone," he said mildly. Will nodded, but looked unconvinced. Seeing the discomfort of the boy, Crowley interrupted.

"Will, do you know how old that tome is? It was written before the formation of the Ranger Corps. One hundred years before, in fact. Anything in there is largely obsolete. I only brought it out because it has the most extensive map I can find of the area, and some useful background information." Slightly relieved, Will flipped through the book until something caught his eye, causing them to widen in disbelief.. "Halt, is that- did they really- _were dragons real?" _he said incredulously. Frowning, Halt took the book from him, looking at the picture.

Crowley rubbed his hands together.

"Ah yes, I found that very interesting. Didn't think they actually existed, did you? I was hoping you might find fossils of them in the mountains. Now, let's have a look at that map," Crowley said as he took the tome back and flipped to the middle, spreading out the pages to clearly show the map.

"I've had a scribe copy it out to a scroll to take with you, but let's just look at this one for now." He pointed out various areas that he was interested in, and showed them where Morgarath had headquartered, and the area leading to three-step-pass. "You may be familiar with some of these areas Will," he said. Nodding, Will swallowed. That was exactly what he'd been afraid of.

"What exactly do we have to do?" asked Will. Crowley explained:

"I just want you two to survey the area, so that we can have more accurate maps of it. We haven't had one since the one I showed you was made. I assume you learned map making, Will? More importantly, I suspect that some of the old 'extinct' creatures that the books talk about may still exist in there, just as the Wargals and- other creatures –did. You would catalogue these creatures, study them, and learn about potentially dangerous ones. You may also find manuscripts and fossils: that's basically what I want you to do. Not too hard."

After more discussion, Will was still undecided. He didn't know if he was ready to potentially face monsters of the past. His own, or otherwise.

"Can I have one more day to decide? I have a lot to consider." Halt nodded.

"That's fine. We'll come back here after midday meal tomorrow, and you can tell us what you think," he said, giving Will an encouraging pat on the shoulder as he stood up. "I think we're done here. Will, I'm going back to our rooms, you can go where you like. Just don't go to the King's personal section. Not even your Oakleaf can get you in there." Will nodded, thinking he would explore a bit.

Crowley shot a mischievous look in Will's direction. "Yes, Halt needs to go take a nap. He's getting along in years, and old men need their rest," he laughed. Halt glared frostily at him. "You're definitely getting old if you think _that's_ funny Crowley."

* * *

Walking through the twisting hallways and passages, Will was overawed by the size of the castle, notwithstanding that he'd grown up in one. Even though Crowley had shown him a map of the castle, he didn't know how he'd ever find his way around. Coming out into a room that looked as if it was a foyer into a separate room, Will stood still a moment; he was temporarily invisible, standing in the shadows instinctively. In a far corner, there stood a sulky boy, perhaps Will's age. He was muddy and ragged, and an overdressed lady was scolding him. Will could only assume that the boy was one of the family servants, and he had displeased her somehow.

"You are a disgrace Fitzwilliam! Look what you've done to your tunic, which I was so gracious as to provide for you only three days ago! You shall not have a midday repast. Now go clean yourself, and don't leave your quarters until I tell you that you may." Fitzwilliam (Will thought it was a strange name for a servant) scowled while the foppish lady scolded. Silently, Will backed out of the room, and turned a different way.

* * *

"Cassandra!" Horace jogged lightly after the princess, slowing to match her pace when he caught up with her.

"Hello Horace! I was just coming to find you," she smiled. He bowed his head courteously in greeting, beaming at her.

"Cassie, I'm sorry I can't stay with you, because I have practice in a bit, but I have amazing news! " he said. Even though he was knighted, he continued to practice and train, because he was still so young. When he didn't immediately continue, Cassie waved her hand for him to go on.

"Well, are you just going to stand there or tell me Horace?"

"Will and Halt just arrived at the castle. They might still be with Crowley, but I think they're finished by now." Cassie could barely contain her excitement.

"Oh! Will's here? I haven't seen him in ages. If you don't mind, I'll go find him now. Bye Horace! Let's go Anna." Anna was her maid attendant. She always had to have some sort of escort or company. Even in the castle. With a wave to Horace, she all but ran excitedly back down the hallway. She had no idea where she was going of course, but that didn't matter.

* * *

Walking almost silently by habit, Will wandered into a medium sized room, with comfortable, but not extravagant furniture. Recalling what Crowley had showed him on the map, this was the Ranger gathering room. Basically a common room for any Rangers that might be at the castle to meet in.

A bearskin rug dominated the sitting space, which was furnished with polished wooden armchairs of various upholstery, and a long cushioned couch. A low table sat in the center of the chairs, and the whole of the sitting arrangements were focused around the hearth, which had a kettle ready for making coffee. A cupboard stood next to the hearth, containing, Will hoped, coffee beans. There were old, old tapestries covering the walls, with paintings in between. Dominating the center wall was one such painting.

Will walked closer to study it: it depicted a King standing at his throne, facing a kneeling man. The man wore a mottled cloak similar to Will's own, but in different colors and pattern. He had his cloak swept back in a courtly manner, and his head was bowed. He was a powerful looking man, though masked in the common yeoman's clothing he wore. Two others, nobles perhaps, stood on either side of the King; one held a large longbow and leather quiver in his outstretched arms, the other held two belts looped together, each with a knife scabbard strapped to them. The King was in the act of placing a silver medal in the shape of an Oakleaf strung on a chain over the kneeling man's head. The exact same shape as Will's bronze Oakleaf. The whole scene looked very similar to a knighting, only the court wasn't full of nobles and fancily dressed ladies, it was full of other cloaked men. Will quickly realized, while taking in these details, that this was the founding of the King's Rangers.

"The kneeling man must be the original commandant, Ranger Lyell…" he mused.

"Will!"

He turned to see Cassie Smiling hugely from the doorway, and he began to walk towards her.

"Evan- Cassandra! Long time n-OOOF!"

He was nearly knocked flat as she threw her arms around him.

"It's so good to see you Will! It's been too long." Will patted her back awkwardly.

"Great, but it'll be even longer if you strangle me to death," he said. Cassie laughed again, releasing him.

_Well she sure seems to be in a happy mood._

Anna stood by, smiling to herself at her mistress's behavior. As long as she knew this young Ranger, there wasn't any problem. Besides, Cassandra was always talking about him, and Anna felt as if she knew him herself.

Will was worried that the conversation might be awkward, considering the tight atmosphere of their last meeting, after he'd turned down her offer to remain at the castle. But Cassie was already chatting animatedly, and Will quickly relaxed at her easy manner. Walking over to the chairs, they sat in neighboring seats.

They talked about anything and everything: from Will's latest mission (though he didn't mention what exactly brought them to Castle Araluen), and his upcoming assessment in a few months, to the pranks Cassie had played with her sling and the last unbearably stupid ball she'd had to attend. Will noted with interest for his friends how often she talked about Horace, and how he always calmed her down when she was feeling as if she couldn't stand dull court life any longer.

_Sounds like the princess has a thing for Horace, _he thought.

"…and now there's a new noble family that moved in; Humphries, I think. The have five children, the two eldest boys are away studying in other fiefs. Two are girls, who I've met. On is nice enough, the other is a vain snob."

"There seem to be a lot of those to hand," observed Will wryly.

" Way too many," she agreed. "And the youngest is a boy named Fitzwilliam Hubert."

Will inclined his head interestedly at the familiar name.

"I haven't met him, but I hope he's not a stupid dull boy like the rest. Always getting into trouble I hear. I think I'll like him, if I have to meet him." Will laughed.

"The trouble makers seem to be your sort. With the exception of Horace and myself, of course." She looked askance at him.

"Horace maybe not, but you definitely are." Cassie smiled once again but she could tell Will was thinking about something else. With a concerned look she tapped his knee. He snapped out of his thoughts and smiled at her but in his eyes she could tell something was bothering him. "What is it Will?" She asked, genuinely concerned.

"Nothing," Will lied. It was no use, Cassie knew him almost as good as Halt or Horace did. He sighed and looked her in the eye. "I might have to go back to the Mountains of Rain and Night."


	3. Chapter 3

**Okay, so here's Chapter three written by yours truly Bralt:) Betaed (that a word?) by the one, the only, MYCHELE O'CARRIK OF CLONMEL!**

Cassandra looked at Will worriedly; she had shared the experience in the mountains with him but couldn't imagine going back. The silence grew on with the only sound being Cassie's maid shuffling in the doorway. Will considered what to do; he didn't want to trouble Cassie with his problems but at the same time he needed to talk about them.

"I think you should go, Will," Cassie said quietly. Will looked at her, the shock evident in his eyes. He had expected an answer, but nothing like that answer. "You should go because it will help you get over it; maybe if you go back and see it as just another place instead of a place full of nightmares, then it'll help you move on," she explained. Now her answer didn't seem as ludicrous as it had seemed at first.

Will considered the explanation and after a while he nodded. Now that he thought about it, it would be a great opportunity. He stood quickly, wanting to return to Halt and tell him that he would accept the mission.

"I think you're right. Thank you Cassie," he said. He got up to go, and Cassie stood to embrace him again quickly, wishing him well before he strode out the door.

* * *

Halt and Will walked into Crowley's office the next day after lunch and were greeted by a smiling Crowley. He motioned for them to sit as before while he seated himself across from them. After they had swept away the piles of parchment that had already taken residence on the chairs, they sat down and Crowley cleared his throat, eager to get on with business.

"So have you decided yet, Will?" Crowley shoved aside a pile of books that blocked his view from the young man. Shifting, Will took a deep breath.

"I've decided to go," Will answered, not too eager to go into details. Under his cowl Halt gave a slight nod of his head and Crowley's grin broadened as far as it could go; they knew that not only would this mission help Araluen's understanding of the area but it would help Will with his recuperation.

"Very well then, you'll leave at first light tomorrow. That should give you time to prepare." Crowley looked at Halt. "And maybe you could leave the grim attitude behind, the mountains are already miserable enough." Will laughed as Halt glared at them.

* * *

The next few days of travel through Thorntree Forest went by a bit boringly; but as they got closer and closer to the plains, Will got more and more anxious. Halt noticed but chose to ignore it. He had suspicions of why Will had decided to go but knew that acknowledging the boy's difference would only make him feel awkward.

Finally, on the third day, they broke through the forest suddenly and saw before them the rolling Uthal Plains. It was almost just as it had been two years ago. As the sun started to sink, Halt stopped Abelard and dismounted with Will copying him. By the time the sun sank fully down Halt and Will had a small fire burning and were sitting comfortably on either side of the orange light chewing on dried beef and sipping on their limited supply of coffee.

"Unless you want the fire to go out completely, I recommend you go get us some more wood," Halt said as the westward wind started blowing the small light out. Will stood and started to walk away from their small camp.

Will walked away from the farthest light cast from the fire, trusting the light from the moon to guide him. Though there was plenty of dead branches around, seeing as they weren't far from the forest, Will had to walk quite a ways to find any good branches. Will collected several large ones to last them the night and started back towards the camp, he was halfway back when he tripped over something in the ground. Brushing himself off, he looked to see what he had tripped over and nearly yelled. Laying in the dirt, half buried in it was a human skull and a shield with a lion's crest that he recognized. It was the crest of a battleschool senior that had become Horace's friend; the larger boy had introduced Will to him and they had become friends. Now that he thought about it, Horace hadn't mentioned the boy since the battle. A cold feeling settled in his gut as he forced his racing heart back down his throat.

"H…Halt?" Will called. Apparently he sounded more nervous than he had realized because a moment later Halt was standing a few feet from him with his bow raised and an arrow knocked, surveying the surrounding area.

Seeing no danger, Halt lowered the bow and looked at Will with his eyebrows raised. Silently Will pointed towards the shield and skull that had tripped him. Halt followed his finger and gave a grave nod, he remembered clearly the boy that had owned that shield and he remembered watching him fall, but he also remembered telling Will a different story about the battle and convincing Horace to do the same for the apprentice's sake. Will saw the recognition in Halt's eyes and started to wonder what Halt hadn't told him.

"Come," was all Halt said as he turned his back to Will and headed back towards the fire. Will gathered a few of the dropped branches and followed, a feeling of dread building inside his chest.

They took their previous seats at the fire and as Halt organized his thoughts and added the branches to the fire, Will quenched the shudders that had been attacking him. He was now filled with questions about the battle; Halt had told him that it had been a simple battle and Morgarath had been quickly slayed. As Will looked at Halt he realized that that hadn't been what really happened.

"Halt what really happened?" Will asked. It was the only question that would get him all the answers. Halt sighed and looked up at the dark sky scattered with stars and he seemed to be lost in the past.

"I told you that it was a simple battle, I told you that it was quickly over. I lied, Will, and I'm sorry for that but it had to be done." Halt glanced at Will once and was relieved that the boy didn't seem angry. He cast his eyes back to the stars before continuing. "Many died and I saw some fall that you had become acquainted with, but I chose not to tell you because you had gone through so much already by yourself. I was wrong, but I didn't think you could handle it all on top of what you had gone through."

"So what really happened?" Will pressed; he knew Halt would get to it but he couldn't wait.

Halt eyed him for a long moment. "I think it's time you know. But first, know that it would've gone much differently had you not burned the bridge. Don't forget that." Will nodded. Speaking low, Halt began to tell him of the battle, leaving out no details this time. Not even when the fear he had felt when Morgarath had challenged him. It had been a terrible moment for the Ranger: knowing that his apprentice was in the hands of his mortal enemy. But Halt told him all, barely able to keep his voice steady. Halt wanted to somehow have his apprentice know exactly how he had felt. "Duncan had decided that Sir David would accept the scum's challenge." He looked askance at Will, who was riveted to his seat in anticipation before looking up to the dark sky once more. "But he challenged me." Will was flabbergasted at Halt's revelation. He had always known that Halt had been Morgarath's number one enemy but this surprised him.

"You! He challenged you? Can he do that? You're not a Knight!" Halt hid the smile that wanted to appear at his apprentice's apparent anger.

"He can. He wanted revenge on me; I didn't expect that you would be part of it though." Halt took a deep breath to stop the anger from crawling into his voice. Gasping in spite of himself, Will's face turned pale.

"H-he threatened to torture me, didn't he?" Will spoke hesitantly.

"Yes." For a long time Halt didn't say anything else. Unexpectedly, Will stood. He walked to the other side of the fire and sat next to Halt, wanting to comfort the man but unsure how. Will knew Halt well, so he didn't attempt to put an arm around him, but put his hand on Halt's shoulder. Taking a deep breath, Halt confessed:

"I didn't know what to think. I truly feared for you. How could I have let you be captured by that monster, when I had promised your father to protect you? I felt as if I failed not only him, but you and your mother. But not only that," Halt looked back at Will who still had his hand on Halt's shoulder. Halt saw the anger and pain in those dark eyes. "I started thinking of you as _my _son and nobody would ever get away with doing that to you," Halt said in a whisper so low Will had to strain to hear it. Halt stared unblinkingly into the fire, as if he could see the nightmare playing out in it.

"But did you accept?" Will asked after a few minutes. He still held his hand on Halt's shoulder and took as a good sign when his mentor didn't shake it off.

"I never got the chance. Duncan was trying to silence me so I couldn't accept, when Horace rode out." Once again, Will was taken aback.

"Horace?"

"No, Alyss you dolt," Halt said with a hint of humor, Will gave a faint smile.

"Yes, Horace rode out, smacked his gauntlet across Morgarath's face, and challenged him. It was the stupidest sight I've ever seen. But the bravest too." He told of the harrowing fight in detail; Horace had nearly lost his life, but thanks to Gilan's training, he bested the evil man and won them the battle, with no small cost to Horace. When he was finished Halt looked back to Will, waiting for his reaction

"He fought him? And he never told me? How could he never tell me? Why wouldn't he? Why did I never know this? Why did he ride out? Would you really have accepted for me?"

Halt sighed. "Swine will take to the sky and Crowley turn funny before this boy ever stops asking questions." Halt thought for a moment, one of Will's questions needed an answer. "Yes, Will, I would have most definitely accepted the challenge, no matter how many kings got in my way. Now stop with the questions."

But Will asked another anyway. "Halt, can you show me where they fought?" Halt regarded him for a moment.

"Tomorrow. For now, get to sleep." He tossed the dregs of his coffee into the fire. "I'll take the first watch."

Halt gazed out over the memory haunted plains, deep in thought, unaware that his apprentice was still awake and regarding him in a new respect.

**Hmmm...how'd ya like that?**


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: We do not own Ranger's Apprentice or any of its characters**

**This chapter is by Mychelle O'Carrik:)**

Chap 4

The following morning, Halt and Will continued on to three step path. They stopped, however, when they were still ten minutes away, and dismounted. Halt walked a few paces, looking at the ground, while Will waited with the horses.

"Here; this is where they fought," Halt said at last. Joining him, Will viewed the area; a wide circle with no grass growing on it.

"This is where they fought? Where was Horace?"

"Over there," Halt said, indicating the other side of the grassless ground. He told Will about the combat again, gesturing to where each move took place, and where Horace rode out from. Will hadn't realized that the taciturn man was such a vivid storyteller.

"…crossing his blades, Horace stepped dangerously close to Morgarath, pulled back his knife, and thrust it into the opening in Morgarath's armor, ending the fight."

Will shook his head in amazement. "In a way, Gilan beat Morgarath too. Wow," was all he could say. Halt nodded.

"Yes. I'm proud of him. But, now we need to continue onward."

But Will had one more question. "What happened to Morgarath's body?" Halt considered him for a long moment, then said,

"I stayed after the army had moved out, as did Crowley. We were the only ones to witness what I'm about to tell you, and you're the first and last person to hear it: three gigantic birds that looked like oversized vultures came from over three-step-pass and carried the body off; we haven't heard or seen anything of them since," he said grimly. Shuddering, Will looked over at the forbidding mountain wall, imagining the horrid carrion lurking somewhere behind it. Before he could think too long about it, Halt told him to get back on Tug, and they rode swiftly on.

With each pace, Will felt a growing dread; he felt as if a strong currant was forcing him back, even as he rode closer and closer to the land of his nightmares. Panic started to rise, and he struggled to block it out, forcing himself to press Tug forward. His ears filled with a rushing sound until he couldn't think. He wanted to scream and hide; somewhere, anywhere.

Sensing Will's stress, Tug whinnied nervously, rearing slightly. Will was so distracted that he was thrown off, landing in the damp grass with a thud. Before he could open his eyes, Halt and Tug were hanging over him worriedly.

"Will, what happened? Tug didn't rear very hard," questioned Halt. Breathing heavily, Will stared at him dumbly. Slowly, the panic drained away; the sky was still calmly blue, Halt was still alive, and Will was feeling foolish. He took a shuddering breath.

"S-sorry Halt. I don't know what got into me," he said. Closing his eyes, Halt could've kicked himself. Of course he would start to panic after hearing about hose cursed birds!

"I shouldn't have told you about those birds; come on Will, get up."

He did, not answering, trying to stop the shaking in his legs. He was thoroughly ashamed of himself, flushing red as he patted Tug apologetically.

"Sorry Tug, I didn't realize I was worrying you too." Tug looked at Will, his eyes telling it all.

Whinnying, Tug nodded. _Silly, you have to remember that nothing can get you on _me_._

Mounting, Halt and Will continued to the Mountains of Rain and Night.

* * *

Three days ago, someone left the castle; alone. He wore typical traveler's clothes, except they were better quality than most. He carried a knapsack on his back, over a thick brown cloak with a tall collar. At his waist was a long sword.

"I'm done with my dull life; here comes adventure. But where to go?" he mused atop a brown stallion. Gazing across the Uthal plains, he could see the looming mountains in the distance.

"There! I'm going to the mountains. I'll bet that no-one's explored there before." Briefly, he felt a tremor of doubt- but he brushed it off quickly.

"I'll show _them! _I can do as I please." With that, he kicked the stallion into motion, and rode off. Little did he imagine what perils awaited him…

* * *

When they reached three-step-pass, Halt told Will to dismount and lead Tug; it would be safer that way. It seemed like hours before they made it through the pass, which was narrow, steep, and rocky.

_Small wonder we were able to keep them bottled up, as hard as it is to get through here. _Mused Will.

Nonetheless, they were through in only one hour; just when all four travelers were starting to feel claustrophobic. It was about midday, so they stopped for a meal as soon as they found a relatively sheltered spot, up against the rock wall. The meal was simple, with no coffee, but Will felt his spirits rise after he'd eaten. Sometimes, a good meal can do that for you.

They discussed the day's plans, Halt explaining and Will asking exactly thirty questions a minute.

"Halt, where will we go first?"

"First we will travel to the Fissure, and investigate the area where Morgarath headquartered. That way we can work our way around, deeper into the mountains." There was another reason, however, that Halt and Crowley had discussed: They wanted to get Will to face his past and get over it.

Will nodded, feeling strangely…comfortable… with the idea now. Instead of puzzling over it, he incessantly questioned Halt until he decided he valued his life over information, and fell silent.

They rode on all day, making notes as they went. After all, they _were _mapping this place. At night, they once more found shelter where nothing could sneak up behind them, and lit a smokeless fire to cook with. Happily sipping coffee, Will was surprised when Halt asked him a question.

"Will, what did you observe today?"

Normally, Halt didn't ask questions like that. Quickly realizing this was a practiced charade that Rangers used to discuss possible stalkers; Will began bouncing his leg rhythmically, every so often making an odd change in the pattern as he spoke.

"I noticed that there's one main group of mountains in the center of the plateau, a day's ride away, but there's smaller ones everywhere. Not a beast in sight though."

Halt mentally translated the message: noticed- Will saw something; one-one person or creature; day- they've been there all day; small- Halt guessed it meant young; not a beast- it was a person. Halt confirmed this with a nod. Then Will rubbed his eye with the back of his right hand: the person was a boy.

"Should we make more coffee?" said Halt. This meant _should we bring him to camp, or wait to see what he does? _Simultaneously, he signaled with his hand that the stalker was hiding behind a rock, directly behind Will. Winking, Will replied:

"I think we should _definitely _make more coffee, It's so _cold _out! I'm glad _I _don't have to sleep out there, in the _cold, dark, mountains all alone_," he said, louder than necessary. Halt grunted.

"Just go to sleep. We can't waste the coffee. I'll take first watch over there." He indicated a rock in the opposite direction from Will, fifty meters away. Casually, Halt tossed Will his bedroll, which fell to his left. _Pretend to sleep, be prepared. _

So, Will pretended to sleep, while Halt went off to "keep watch", making a point to face away from camp. Before long, Will heard the distinct sound of someone trying to creep up silently, and failing. Will waited until he heard a scuffling sound like someone trying to locate and open their food bag.

_Five, four, three, two…_

"Thieving from king's rangers, are we?" Said Halt quietly. The boy started violently, and would've yelled had Halt not clamped a hand over his mouth. Will got up, picking up this recurve bow.

"Just as I thought," he said, modeling his voice after Halt's. "I knew you'd be coming." Halt released the boy's mouth.

"Y-you weren't sleeping? H-how did you hear m-m-me?" he stuttered. Will rolled his eyes.

"Please. You walk so loud, I could've shot you in the dark." The boy huffed.

"Well, forgive _me _if I wasn't trained as a Ranger!" he stuck his tongue out at Will.

No, don't- but he couldn't help it. Will burst out laughing. The boy looked indignant, but started to laugh despite himself. Halt merely eyed them both with a raised eyebrow. Still chuckling, Will held out a hand to the boy.

"Apprentice Will. Nice to meet you -?"

"Alec. Alec Hubert," supplied Alec with a momentary hesitation. Will raised his eyebrow but didn't comment. He couldn't be sure in the dim light, but was almost certain the boy wasn't _Alec _Hubert. They didn't have a chance to say anything else before Halt dived at them, knocking both flat as he hissed "Get down!" just as a small boulder flew over their heads.

**Please review**


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: I do not own Ranger's Apprentice or any of its characters**

**This chapter is by me (Bralt) and betaed by the great Mychele**

After the first boulder landed a few meters behind them Will tried to stand but Halt pushed him down again as another boulder crashed by. Alec on the other hand seemed to be in no hurry to stand up or even move. Halt looked at where the boulder had come from and he swore his heart skipped a beat.

On a ledge of the cliff that had been at their backs was a huge feline creature that looked vaguely like the mountain lions Halt had sometimes encountered. Only bigger. Much, much bigger. Before he could react it raised its head and gave a loud, merciless roar that made his ears want to die. Underneath it's grayish blue mottled fur, Halt could see the muscles rippling. As it threw back its head for a second roar Halt could see the razor sharp white fangs and gave a slight shudder at the thought of those things driving into his neck. Halt noticed all this in mere seconds before he realized that the roaring wasn't for nothing: twenty more of the cats appeared at the cliff edge and his spirits drop. He turned to Will quickly.

"Grab our things and get on Tug now!" Halt said in a hoarse whisper. "I'll distract them," he added, answering Will's next question. Will gave a quick nod and shuffled quickly over to their supplies.

Halt stayed in his crouched position as he unslung his bow. He deftly pulled an arrow out of his quiver and nocked it to the string. As Will threw the supplies onto the horses, Halt stood quickly, drawing the monster's attention. He ran a few meters to his left across the rocky ground and was glad that the pack's attention was focused on him. The first beast, Halt had established that it was the leader, gave one last roar before bounding down the excruciatingly steep cliff. The beast landed with a thud and the twenty others landed beside it. Halt fired the first arrow and felt a rock settle in his stomach as the arrow bounced harmlessly off the creature's hide. It glared at Halt and crouched down. Halt had enough sense to realize the beast was going to pounce and jumped out of the way in time.

Nocking another arrow to his bow, he was about to fire when he realized the feline was heading for not him but for Alec. He was about to distract the thing again when the pack started to close in on him. He backed up against the craggy cliff and raised his bow but was surprised that none of them got closer than a meter. He watched those surrounding him but couldn't help but let his eyes drift towards Alec. He was frozen in fear as the leader padded towards him. Will was too far away to help Alec; the beast gave a low snarl and Will turned around and raised his own bow, even though he had seen the effect of Halt's arrows he hoped he could draw its attention. Halt went to yell but was distracted as one of his watchers feinted towards him. When he looked back up the leader had Alec in his teeth by the scruff of the neck and started bounding away. Not too much later the pack followed and Halt and Will were left looking after them.

Halt was the first to recover as he strode towards Abelard and jumped up. Will followed suit quickly. Before Will could tap his knees against Tug, however, Halt motioned for him not to move. Will looked at him curiously.

"Wait, we need a plan. Those savages aren't run of the mill beasts," Halts said while still looking at the curving path they had taken. He thought for a moment before deciding on something. "Did you see that they only took Alec, but left us? There must be a reason, and they're apparently pretty smart," he explained. "Will, you stay behind me and watch our backs while I watch the front. We don't want any more of them coming up behind us." It wasn't much of a plan but it was the best he could come up with until he found where they were headed. Will nodded and got in position behind his mentor with his bow still loaded.

They followed the beasts quickly yet cautiously. Constantly Will glanced behind them; he could just imagine one of the hostile creatures pouncing upon them while their backs were turned to them. Will's panic was reaching a high when Halt motioned for him to stop; he dismounted and led Abelard to a nearby pile of boulders. The landscape was dotted with the piles of rocks and outcrops. Will followed suit and soon they were crouched behind the pile.

"You see that?" Halt whispered as he peered around the rocks. They had been traveling with the cliff to their right and the open rocky ground to their left. Halt was motioning towards the right at a large cave mouth set in the side of the cliff. Beasts were assembled in some sort of guard around it. Halt had a feeling these were no ordinary beasts. They had unusual intelligence. Will looked and saw what Halt had seen. Alec was sitting in the middle of what looked like a bunch of baby beasts. "They either think he's a child, or they're just waiting to eat him," Halt said. He saw no point in sugarcoating the problem. Will gulped and got back behind the rock.

"But Halt, why doesn't he just get up and leave? Those little ones don't look like too much trouble," Will said. In truth the little ones had the same sharp fangs and claws as the grown ones and their facial features didn't offer anything comforting.

"You saw the Sabeths," Halt began but stopped as Will raised an eyebrow at the name. It had taken Halt a while but he finally recalled the name that the book Crowley had given them said. This was obviously a more evolved version of it but it was of the same origin and everything. Halt made a mental note to read the new book when they settled for the night. "It's these beast's ancient relative," Halt said briefly. Will nodded. "They're obviously more intelligent than most things we've faced. I'm assuming that the cave is bigger than it looks and there's more of a pack in there. But right now our prime job is to get Alec back." Will nodded.

"How are we going to get to him though? I don't think they'd take to kindly to us charging into there towards their kin," Will said. Halt nodded, conceding the point.

"That's why I'm going to distract them while you get him out of there," Halt said. "I'll run out to the left of this pile and go towards the mouth of the cave and draw their attention while you go for Alec," Halt added before Will could say anything. "On my signal. One…Two…"

"Wait," Will said before Halt reached three. His mentor turned to look at his apprentice with his eyebrow raised in an obvious sign of annoyance. Will looked apologetically at him. "How do I get Alec? I'm not ready for this." Will felt no shame in admitting his doubts. Halt had always been beside him when something big like this happened. The only time he hadn't been beside him was at the bridge and he had been captured then. Halt's eyes seemed to soften at his apprentice's confession. It was time Will learned to be independent and there was no way to ease him into it really.

"You'll be fine. Leave your bow on Tug; the arrows have no effect on their hide. I'll have their full attention and all you'll have to deal with is the little ones." Halt could still see the worry in Will and knew what was going through his mind. Halt laid a comforting hand on his shoulder and looked into his eyes. "I know you can do this. You did great at the bridge. You did what had to be done and that was that. You can do this now; nobody is trying to kill you this time." Halt gave a small smile and saw some of the doubt in Will's eyes fade. "Ready?" Will nodded. "One…two…three."

Halt jumped out on the left and ran towards the monsters. It wasn't the smartest thing but it grabbed their attention. He ran towards the mouth of the cave and the guards came snarling after him. He backed up against the cliff to the left of the cave opening and unsheathed his saxe and held it ready. He fended them away from them as they made feints towards him. Will waited a few seconds till Halt had their attention before he sprinted out from behind the rocks and raced towards Alec. Will helped Alec to his feet and went to signal Halt but froze in place at what he saw by the opening of the cave.

Halt was bleeding from a head wound and before Will could do anything, Halt collapsed against the side of the cliff.

**Oooooh cliffie. As always please review**


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: I do not own Ranger's Apprentice or any of its characters**

**This is Mychele's chapter:)**

Gaping at his fallen mentor, Will searched frantically for some-way to distract the cats away. Glancing down at the cubs, he swooped one up and dashed away from the cliff face and away from Halt, yelling to attract their attention. The cub writhed and hissed in distress, causing most of the Sabeths to turn and bound after Will.

They closed upon him fast; Will stood no chance of escape carrying the heavy cub. Turning, he threw it at them as hard as he could. The cub landed with an angry howl and one of the Sabeth stayed to retrieve it.

_Now how do I get to Halt?_ He thought frantically. A flash of motion caught his eye; Alec!

* * *

Two Sabeths still hung over Halt as many pursued Will. Without a second thought, Alec sprinted to him, leaping athletically over the nearest feline.

"Yaaaaahhh! Back off cats!" bellowed Alec, swinging his fists madly. Hissing in confusion, the Sabeths took a half-step back, baring their fangs. Alec grabbed a rock and threw it in the face of the smaller cat.

"BACK OFF!"

Taking advantage of their momentary confusion, Alec hastily slung one of Halt's arms over his shoulder, hefting the dazed Ranger upright; Halt was bleeding from a head wound, and Alec knew first-hand how nasty they could be.

As they recovered from their confusion, the Sabeths decided Alec wasn't as helpless as they thought. The smaller of the two leapt at Alec, fangs bared for the kill. Halt noticed the tensing of muscles as the cat was about to spring and warned Alec.

"Look out!" he managed to mumble.

Alec didn't have a weapon, so he blindly grabbed at Halt's saxe, placing himself between Halt and the cat as he dragged them both back, holding the huge knife horizontally in front of them.

The Sabeth slammed into Alec's body, huge paw-span straddling him against the cliff wall as the saxe clashed with its wicked teeth, barely preventing it from slaying Alec.

The tall boy gasped in fear, beads of sweat streaming down his face as he struggled with might and main to hold off the crushing power of the cat; his arm would've buckled under the pressure, the blunt back of the knife pressing cruelly against him, when the cat suddenly yowled and leapt back, blood trickling down it's stomach. Confused, Alec turned to Halt, whose throwing knife dripped with blood. Eyes widening in comprehension, Alec realized that Halt had stabbed it in the vulnerable underbelly. He snapped into action as Halt began to sway This time, Alec didn't waste time; they ran, Alec still supporting Halt, even though his head was clearing slightly. It throbbed painfully with each step as Alec waved the saxe threateningly and yelled in defiance at the cats.

"C'mon Halt, let's get you on your horse," he said.

He nodded, swinging into the saddle. Alec turned back to Will, keeping hold of Halt's saxe.

The nimble boy was running and dodging, quickly firing arrows into the faces of the giant felines; but the path back to Halt and Alec was blocked off by the Sabeth. They constantly backed away from him, snarling when the arrows nicked their tough faces, but advancing unharmed.

"Will!" Yelled Halt "Aim for their stomachs when they jump!"

Looking up momentarily, Will saw Halt back on Abelard, and sighed in relief. But not for long. The leader leapt at him, yowling crazily. Startled, Will yelled and smacked his bow hard across its muzzle, buying him time to dash to the right towards the horses while he shot at a leaping Sabeth. The arrow pierced halfway up the shaft at that close range, and the creature collapsed.

Alec cursed; he had to get Will back over here. Tug had joined Abelard, whinnying anxiously. Alec gritted his teeth. Halt couldn't run with his head split open, but if that look on his face meant anything, that wouldn't matter if Alec didn't act fast.

So he did the stupidest thing possible: he charged among the cats brandishing the saxe and yelling hoarsely.

"Will! C'mon!" A massive claw raked Alec's leg, and he gasped. Will was also bleeding from numerous cuts as he charged towards Alec, whacking out with his bow like a quarterstaff, clearing a path through the Sabeths and out of the cave.

Dashing madly, the boys made it to Halt, who covered them by shooting his massive shafts at the cats, aiming for their stomachs whenever they jumped or exposed that area; several went down with blood-curdling yelps.

Will jumped on Tug, and was about to pull Alec up beside him when Halt yelled,

"Code-word, Will!"

Remembering, Will leaned down to whisper into Tug's ear, "Passenger." It enabled Alec to ride without being thrown off for the time being. Tug nodded his understanding. Abelard's lead on a fast gallop out of there.

"They're following!" Alec yelled in a panic. Will gritted his teeth and looked to Halt: he was managing to stay mounted, but Will could imagine the pounding headache he must have.

_Looks like I'm gonna have to think on my own._

"I think they are following because we're in their territory. If we can get out of this area without them catching up, they may simply stop following," called Will above the pounding hoof-beats. Will wasn't at all sure of that, but it was logical, he thought. Unless of course they were hunting. Alec nodded in understanding.

"What about Halt?" he called.

Tuning to them, Halt glared balefully. "Halt can take care of himself," he grumbled.

Will ignored them, spurring Tug to take the lead. They didn't want any-more company, and he needed to keep a sharp look out in this uncertain terrain.

"Will, several are gaining on us!" said Alec. Glancing back, Will confirmed this.

"Tug, lead," he commanded curtly; instantly dropping the reins, Will took aim at a Sabeth. As it ran, for a brief moment at each stride, the underarm of the cat was exposed. The moment was barely there, but Will figured the arrow would penetrate for the same reason that it did the creature's stomachs. He released the arrow, and it went straight into the left underarm, piercing the heart. It collapsed with a chilling yowl; Will took out another the same way, and injured three others.

The pursuing cats began to look uncertain, hissing at the riders angrily. They unanimously began to slow and eventually stopped the chase altogether, watching the riders warily, eventually turning tail and running away, back into their territory.

"Don't stop! We have to get out of the area!" commanded Will, once again taking up the reins and searching for a safe place to take Halt.

Coming up beside Tug, Halt turned to Alec.

"Hey boy, my saxe," he said.

Looking down at the bloody knife still clutched in his fist, Alec wiped it carelessly on his sleeve and handed it hilt-first to Halt. "Thanks for letting me borrow it," he said cheekily. Halt didn't reply, merely sheathing the knife and turning forward again. Will glanced at him.

_Must be in bad shape if he's not even being sarcastic, _he thought. _I need to get us out of the open; but where to? A cave may only get us run in with more creatures, but I think it's the best bet._

They slowed to a trot and weaved among piles of rocks, up and down hills, and through areas of thorny bushes; Will constantly scanned the area around for somewhere to stop.

"Will," Will turned sharply. Halt's face was pale, and he looked as if he might topple from Abelard any minute, but was trying to conceal it. "Will, we need to stop," continued Halt grimly.

"Of course," Will said hastily and instantly halted Tug, and slid off to assist Halt. He slid wearily to the ground, glaring staunchly although he swayed on his feet. Will helped him lie down behind a rocky bluff, bundling his bedroll under Halt's head.

When he turned back to Alec, the boy was sitting stiffly on Tug, staring apprehensively at the horse. Puzzled, Will looked at Tug: he was eyeing Alec warningly in a way Alec didn't know a horse could.

"Uh, Will? What's wrong with, uh, your horse?"

Will couldn't help but grin. Now that he wasn't on Tug, if Alec so much as tried to move Tug, well, he would end up on the ground faster than he could blink.

"Just slide off him nice and easy; he's trained not to let a stranger ride him without me." Alec nodded and quickly dismounted, still eyeing the horse as if he might suddenly sprout wings and a horn and fly off with sparkles coming from his hooves.

Returning to the task at hand, Will contemplated what to do. Within seconds, he decided; handing his throwing knife to Alec, he said:

"Hold onto this and bandage Halt's head; the supplies are in that pack," he pointed to one of the saddle-bags. "And fix yourself up while you're at it."

"But where are you going? And you have more cuts than I do," protested Alec.

"I know, but we can't stay here; I'll look around the and see if I can find an empty cave or something." He glanced back at Halt, who had closed his eyes. "And whatever you do, don't annoy him," he whispered.

With that, he walked off among the rocks, disappearing in seconds. Alec looked at the strange throwing knife in his hand.

"Great, I wish I hadn't lost my sword before I met them," he said, getting to work with the medical pack.

* * *

Cautiously, Will looked around the rock he was behind. Still nothing in sight, alive or dead. He didn't see tracks anywhere, or catch any scent on the hot breeze; the landscape was completely bleak and lifeless.

_No wonder Morgarath made his headquarters here. It's as deathly as he was, _he thought grimly.

There was another cliff up ahead; it looked like the wall of a sort of dried out ravine, with more bristly bushes everywhere, and fortunately, what looked like a cave in its face.

"There, that's where I need to go," he said to himself, making his way towards it. Upon reaching the place, he noticed that the bushes were taller and greener that those he'd seen so far. There were even a few lizards and such small things around.

"That means water. There's got to be an underground stream somewhere, because I don't smell any here," he mused as he remembered the countless hours in the cabin going over such signs.

He ventured into the cave, cautiously looking around to see if it was empty. There was a pile of bones in a corner, but Will judged that they were old, as the vaguely musty scent in the cave was scant.

"So far, so good," he muttered when nothing attacked him.

He continued farther in, arrow held loosely to his bow, but not drawn. Halt had taught him never to enter a potentially hostile space without being prepared to shoot instantly. Around the corner, there was a gradual decent deeper into the cave, large rough boulders creating a sort of stairway into the depths.

"I better take a look. I have a feeling the water is down there."

He went down, testing his footing before putting weight on it, climbing expertly. He did, after all, climb up towers before. This was easy in the bottom, he found himself in a vast cavern. In the center flowed a wide stream.

"Just as I thought. This is perfect," he said. He unscrewed his canteen, walking over to the stream to fill it before climbing back out and backtracking to where he left halt and Alec, "I'll bet a cup of coffee that they're arguing just about now."

* * *

"Stop complaining; would you prefer I leave you to those cats next time?"

"Go ahead! It'll save me being pestered to death by a mindless kid like you. You're worse than Gilan," grumbled Halt. He had resisted Alec's help, grumping that he could bloody well take care of himself, to which Alec had quipped that he _would_ have to take care of his bloody self if Alec hadn't saved him.

"Look Halt,"

"No, you look kid; I said I can take care of myself!"

"Will told me to bandage you up."

"And I'm telling you to ignore Will! Bandage _yourself_ up."

"You're too kind. But I'm inclined to listen to Will, as he's the one who is capable of shooting me if I don't." Not that he actually believed that. It was just too fun to annoy the grumpy man.

"I'll show you capable. It's easy enough to shoot a blundering fool like you."

"This _blundering fool_ is offended! I _saved_ you, remember?"

"Unfortunately, yes."

"Ungrateful greybeard! Now lemme put this bandage on!"

Apparently, the remark about his beard stuck a chord with Halt.

"That does it boy, you'll be needing a bandage yourself in a minute!" He lunged up, grimacing at his throbbing head. Alec tumbled back, scrambling out of reach with a laugh.

"Ha! Told you s-" A hand seized his collar, jerking him upright.

"I thought I told you not to annoy him. Luckily for you, I got back in time."

Halt relaxed back, crossing his arms. "Lucky indeed! Will, we should just throw him back to the Sabeths; he's worse than you when you first had coffee."

Alec tried to jerk free of Will indignantly. "I was just trying to bandage him."

"Sure you were. Look, I found a cave Halt. It has an underground stream. We need to go there to make camp out of the open."

Halt nodded in satisfaction, causing Will to grin at the praise.

"But first, we really do need to get you bandaged Halt," he added apologetically.

"Fine, but you do it Will. That kid is getting on my nerves."

"Yes, you do it Will. That old man is getting on _my _nerves."

Suffice it to say, Alec ended up walking behind the horses, nursing a bruised arm.

**Please review**


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: I do not own Ranger's Apprentice or any of its characters:)**

**This is my(Bralt's) chapter:) Enjoy little ones**

Will led them back towards the cave that he had discovered. Along the way he became aware that his hand was beginning to sting a bit and unconsciously he began to itch it. They were about halfway to the cave when Alec started to complain and Halt decided it was his place to respond to the youth's grievances. Will rolled his eyes and tried to ignore them but eventually it was too much to bear.

"Do you ever stop complaining?" Halt snapped. He was riding abreast to Will and Alec was walking between them. It had taken Will about ten minutes to reach the cave on foot and it would only have taken around five had it just been him and Halt on the horses.

"Do you ever stop being a cranky old man?" Alec retorted. Halt's brow furrowed and Will could just imagine him giving Alec a good whack.

"I'll show you cranky," Halt threatened.

"You mean that it gets worse?" Alec answered. Will sighed and scratched his hand again. He'd have to do something about this bickering before it got out of hand.

"It hasn't even started yet you little-"

"Oh just shut up," Will said before Halt could finish his sentence. Halt glared at him.

"Is that any way to talk to your mentor?" he asked as one eyebrow shot up.

"I was…you and Alec…I just…" Will stammered.

"I asked you a question," Halt said sternly. "Answer. Yes or no."

"No Halt," Will answered with a sigh.

"Gosh Will, that was real rude," Alec said as he too glared at the apprentice.

"And calling him a cranky old man isn't?" Will retorted. Alec shook his head.

"I'm not his apprentice so I can call him anything I want. But an apprentice telling their mentor to shut up is just completely rude," he said with another shake of his head.

Will was at a loss for words. He couldn't think of anything to say back to that. Giving up, he looked ahead of him to see how close they were. It looked to be about another five minutes. As he was studying the distance, Halt and Alec locked eyes and Halt gave a slight nod. Alec had done excellently in helping him tease Will. Alec gave a small smile and looked back to the apprentice.

"Are we almost there?" he whined. Halt rolled his eyes and went to give a sadistic response, but Will was fast to answer.

"Five more minutes and we should be there." He looked up at the sinking sun and gave a small nod. They would have shelter just in time.

The next minute or so passed in silence for which Will was grateful. Constantly he reached to scratch his hand without realizing and before long it was a bright red. In a few more minutes they were riding into the cave mouth with Will in the lead. Tug and Abelard, surefooted as always, had no problem navigating the tricky sloping ground whereas Alec stumbled every few steps and had to grab onto the nearest thing to keep himself upright. One such time he clamped onto the back of Halt's cloak. The Ranger whipped around in the saddle with an arrow nocked to see the teen smiling sheepishly. He went to say something but thought better of it for the moment.

At last, they reached the cavern Will had discovered earlier and the two riders dismounted. Alec looked around the grotto and frowned slightly as he saw drawings on the walls. He was about to mention his observation when a more demanding thought crossed his mind. Food. He turned to look at the Rangers. Will was busy unloading their equipment while Halt rummaged through his saddle pack. Eventually, he pulled out a small pouch filled with the little jerky they had left. It wasn't much, but it was all they had for the moment. Alec frowned and marched over to the senior.

"Any thoughts on sharing that?" he asked in a somewhat accusing voice as Halt pulled out the last piece.

"Not with you," he replied as he glared at the youth.

"I thought we were supposed to be helping each other? I'm a growing boy who needs food," Alec complained. "You don't need the food. You're as big as you're going to get." Will glanced over at that point and went to interject, but thought better. Any reference to his size would get Halt worked up and jumping in the middle of that wasn't too bright.

"I'm bigger than you, need I remind you," Halt snapped back. It was in fact true; he was a few centimeters taller than Alec. Not enough to brag about, but enough to matter. "And besides, I'm wounded. I need the food."

"It didn't seem like you were injured half an hour ago! You were fighting tooth and nail to keep us from bandaging you up. I, on the other hand, need the food."

"Twits like you don't need to grow any larger. You're trouble enough at this size," Halt shot back. Alec raised an eyebrow that Halt was impressed by.

"Just share it," Alec said and grabbed onto the piece of dried beef. Halt tightened his grip and it was obvious his strength far outmatched the youth's. "Fine! You can have it! If you're a cranky greybeard now, I don't want to see you when you're hungry," Alec said when he realized he was outmatched. He released his own grip without warning. Halt, now missing resistance, stumbled back a pace and lost hold of the food. It landed in the stream a meter or so away and sank with a fizzling noise. Halt frowned but didn't have much time to continue his train of thought. "Great, look what you just did." Alec glared at him and Halt met the gaze evenly.

"I did that? If I may remind you, you were the one who let go." Halt looked to the stream where the food had fallen in and felt his stomach rumble. "I'll just go and grab it out of the water," he said mostly to himself and walked over to the water's edge. He was about to reach into the water when something hard slammed into his hand and dropped into the water. Halt instinctively snapped his hand away from the water and looked towards the direction where the projectile had come from.

"Don't touch the water," Will said nervously.

Will started to unpack their supplies for the night when he heard Alec and Halt begin to bicker once again. He sighed deeply, but chose to leave them to their own devices; no sense in getting stuck in the middle. The apprentice frowned as his hand began to itch again; looking down at his hand he was somewhat shocked to see it a bright red and a small cut was forming where he kept scratching. He reached into the saddle pack to grab the canteen he had filled up earlier so he could clean it off. His hand clasped around something. It felt slightly like the canteen but something about it was…wrong. He pulled it out and dropped it as his other hand began to sting. He looked down at the container and gasped. Half of it looked like it was melted and it was slowly falling apart. Quickly he looked into the pack and his eyes grew wide. Where the water had leaked out of the container and onto the pack it was decaying and causing the pack to fall apart. Will whipped around as he heard a splashing noise and heard Alec and Halt bickering again.

"I'll just go and grab it out of the water," Halt was saying and Will felt his heart sink as he realized what his mentor was going to do. Looking around he realized he couldn't stop Halt and he didn't trust himself to speak. He picked up a rock from the ground and before Halt could dip his hand into the water, Will threw the rock.

"Don't touch the water," he said breathlessly.

"Why?" Halt asked as he backed away from the stream; the tone in the youth's voice was urgent and Halt trusted Will.

"Let me see a piece of jerky," Will demanded as he walked up to Halt by the stream. The Ranger frowned.

"Greybeard here dropped it into the stream," Alec answered. He was becoming quite fond of the name; mostly because it seemed to get on Halt's nerves. Will glared at him as well as Halt; the last thing he needed at the moment was Alec to get in another fight with Halt.

"Then give me a rock," Will said, and Alec picked one up and tossed it to him. Will threw the rock into the stream and they watched as it fizzled and began to dissolve slowly. Alec's eyes widened whereas Halt merely raised an eyebrow.

"I don't think we can get the jerky back," he muttered and turned to Will. "So we can't get any water and we now have no food." Halt threw a glare at Alec before continuing. "I think we should spend the night here, but we're going to need to get some food. Will, I'll show you the map and maybe we can find a place nearby that could house animals." Will nodded agreement and they went back to the horses.

Alec, already bored, decided to take a look at the drawings he had noticed earlier. He noted that were they had entered the cave the drawings looked to be older so that's where he started. Going along the wall he couldn't tell what was happening; the drawings looked to be describing some kind of battle or event. Frowning in concentration he began to read what he was looking at out loud.

"Okay, so this looks like this guy here, hey that looks like Halt, looks like he angered this thing here. That sorta looks like those beasts we met earlier. Then it looks like he got away and these two things must be people. It looks like they found a cave thing," Alec mumbled to himself. He went to move on down the wall some but stumbled on a rock and fell.

He went to get up but something in the wall stopped him. There was a crevice in the wall. It wasn't very big but it was big enough not to be a simple crack. Alec peered into it; he figured he could have easily slipped into it if he wanted. When his eyes had adjusted to the darkness of the gap, he gasped. Lying not far away from the beginning of the crack what looked to be a skeleton of a beast. Being the boy he was, he picked up a nearby rock and chucked it at the carcass and watched as it crumbled to the ground. Alec backed away from the wall and went to join Will and Halt who were still looking at the map. He was halfway across the cavern when a bone chilling roar came echoing across the cave. Will and Halt looked up from the map at him. Halt was as calm as ever as he stood and loaded his bow whereas Will seemed a little jittery. The noise began again and Alec froze as he realized it was coming from the hole behind him. He twisted quickly to look back at the crevice and almost fainted as he saw a bleached white skull attached to a skeleton body standing in the entrance and roaring.

**Dun dun dun...please review**


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer: We do not own Ranger's Apprentice or any of its characters**

**This wonderful chapter is written by Mychele O'Carrick of Clonmel**

Chap 8

Will nearly dropped his bow in shock, and even Halt's eyebrows shot up.

"W-what is th-th-that thing?" said Will, his voice squeaky.

"I don't know," answered Halt. "But it's going back where it came from." He swiftly shot an arrow at the roaring _thing. _The arrow zipped thought the eye socket and smashed through the back of itsskull; it thudded to the ground, and the bones collapsed. Halt straightened in satisfaction, but too soon. The bones rattled and clattered, drawing together, reforming the skeletal corpse. It turned creakily, and shambled towards them. The roaring began again, and Alec turned to the skull on the ground; out of the gaping jaws came the hollow, lifeless roar. Alec picked up a rock as the body continued to Halt and Will.

Realizing that there was no flesh to hit, Halt swung at it, using his bow as a quarterstaff, knocking the bones far and wide.

_What animates this corpse?_ Thought Halt. The bones, separated as they were, began to clatter again and link with each other. Quickly regaining his composure, Will kicked the bones apart as fast as they joined, but that would only be effective for so long.

Alec ran to the skull; he smashed the rock down on it with all his might, shattering it. Instantly, the bones stilled. Will and Halt looked up, and Alec grinned at them.

"It stops moving when you smash the skull apparently," he said, pleased with himself.

"How'd you figure that out?" said Will.

"I didn't. That roaring was unnerving me." Alec shrugged sheepishly.

Halt ignored them, crouching near the lifeless bones. He picked one up, inspecting it closely. Will looked at him strangely when Halt sniffed deeply.

"Uh, what're you doing Halt?"

"It's the same weird smell as that water. I noticed it when I went to pick up the jerky."

"There were paintings of those things on that wall," began Alec, pointing to the painted wall. "I wonder if-" rattling sounds and unearthly howls startled him.

"More of them," breathed Will, looking towards the hole.

Quickly, Halt ran to the wall Alec had been scrutinizing. He followed the pictures, looking at the end in particular.

Will wasn't sure what Halt was doing, but they would need to get out of there. Fast. So he ran to Tug and Abelard, slung the removed saddle bags over his shoulder, and led their horses to the rocky path they had descended from.

"Go on. Go up and wait Tug, Abelard."

Halt was still inspecting the wall. One picture caught his eye; what it showed made his eyes widen.

"Will, get up there! Get moving Alec. We're getting out of here _now_." They ran to the path, when the whole cave started shaking. Pebbles and dust fell from the roof, and larger rocks started to fall into the opening to the precarious path to freedom.

"The entrance is being blocked off! Go!" Halt yelled. The rocks, and boulders, fell heavily. Trying to get through alive was suicide.

"It's too dangerous! We can't!" said Alec. The whinnying horses were fast being blocked from their sight. Realizing that they wouldn't be able to get to the horses, Will called out desperately above the thunderous avalanche.

"Tug, Abelard, retrace! Retrace!" Then, the opening was covered; they were trapped.

"What did you tell them?" asked Alec.

"I gave them the command to go back to the castle; retrace our journey." Will looked to Halt to see if he disapproved. Halt merely nodded. They were trapped, and with little chance of finding their mounts anytime soon, they didn't want them getting hurt or killed. The safest thing was for them to go back to Castle Araluen.

The roaring issuing from the gap reminded them that they weren't safe yet. Not by a long shot. Alec and Will unconsciously moved together, Will pulling out his strikers, a metal bar with weighted knobs on the ends, while Alec hefted a few sturdy rocks. They looked at the hole as the noises grew louder; Alec's face showed uncertainty, and Will's was determined and calm.

"Here they come!" called Alec. A swarm of skeletons poured from the crevice, making all kinds of chilling noises. Halt was closer than the boys to the hole; he punched a skeleton, crashing his fist straight into its skull. The skull cracked, and a dribble of blood seeped from Halt's fist. Holding his strikers by one of the knobs, Halt smashed the other end into the same spot, shattering the skull.

He ran to Alec and Will to buy some time to draw his other strikers, and held one in each fist, sending skulls flying left and right. Will did the same, crouching slightly in a fist-fighter's stance, smashing overhanded with the weighted steel knobs, shattering the various skulls. A mammoth structure towered over him; it struck out with vicious bleached claws, lunging at him, fangs bared. Will narrowly ducked the heavy arm and shoved it to the ground. The bones temporarily scattered, and Will crushed the skull. Then he moved onto the next one.

Alec found himself slightly overwhelmed: he'd never had to fight for his life like this, in actual battle, except for the encounter with the Sabeths. He pushed away the distracting thought impatiently, and continued throwing rocks and smashing out. His fists bled from the glancing blows when his fists slipped and the shattered bone cut him, but he gritted his teeth and punched on.

"Kinda strange fighting things that don't bleed, huh?" he called out. He dimly heard Will's voice over the clatter and noise.

"Save you breath for fighting and don't distract us, Alec!"

"Whatever you say, Ranger boy!" Will could hear the irrepressible smile in Alec's voice. He shook his head even as he continued to duck and weave, sometimes hitting the mark with his blows, sometimes merely knocking the skeletons askew.

"You're crazy, ya know that Alec?"

"My sisters told me that every other minute!" he called back. But the thought of his sisters sobered him; if he died here and now, he'd never see any of his family again.

_Isn't that what I wanted? _He thought, then answered himself. _No._

With a new determination, he battled on.

The creatures kept coming, and they could see no end in sight, unless it was their death. For a second, Will found no creatures immediately around him, and looked around. He couldn't see Halt anywhere.

"Halt!"

"Arrrg!" The mighty yell made Will spin around, and he saw something he would remember for a long time afterwards: Halt stood surrounded by the creatures, bones flying through the air around him. He fought with amazing skill as he stood atop a pile of lifeless bones. He swung his arm in a wide arc, sending a skull flying; he used the momentum to turn and throw a mighty hook into the skeleton behind it. Then he ducked and spun under the scything arm of a huge creature, knocked the arm off at the joint, and crashed his striker into the skull. All his motions flowed with incredible skill and his hits were uncannily accurate. He ducked and spun, kicked and smashed, a formidable blur of pure skill.

Will stood dumbstruck. He'd hardly seen Halt in hand-to-hand combat like this; it awed him completely.

"It's…it's…poetry in motion." He murmured, recalling the phrase from some prosy book.

"Hey! Dreamer boy! You gonna knock that thing out?" Alec's jeer snapped Will out of his daze, and he turned just in time to dodge a lunging skeleton. He mimicked Halt, and spun under itsgrasping reach, struck off the offending arm, and smashed the skull in. And tripped on it, landing with a majestic flop.

With another yell, Halt burst out of the encroaching prison of bones, sending its bars flying across the cavern.

For a moment, there were no more skeletons to be seen. Halt jogged over to Will and Alec, who had moved together again.

"Time to get out of here. More may be coming soon," he said.

"But how?" said Alec. "There's nowhere to run. It's a cave."

Halt nodded to the stream. "That water has to flow in from somewhere."

With that, they raced to the stream, searching for a way out.

An all too familiar clattering distracted Alec. He turned around; several of the skulls that had been knocked loose hadn't been shattered, merely cracked. They were spattered with the blood from the fighter's cuts, and the blood covering the cracks seemed to heal them, recreating the monsters and forming together with the piles of bones the skulls sat on. The few skulls joined many bones into gigantic, many-limbed, towering monsters; grotesque and garish in form.

"Uh, Halt! We have a problem!"

Turning, Halt tilted his head back to gaze up at the twelve gigantic nightmares. "How did that happen?" he said.

"I think fresh blood revives them!"

Glancing down at his bloodied fists, Halt took out a cloth from his back pocket, ripped it in two, and wrapped it tightly around his knuckles. "You carry a kerchief, boy?" he said.

"Uhh, no, actually," Alec said dejectedly. "Guess I shoulda listened to mum there."

The skeletons had almost finished forming up.

"Then improvise!" With that, Halt charged at the nearest beast, holding his longbow horizontally in front of him; he ran between two of the gangly legs, and the bow knocked the joints out, causing the huge creature to stumble mightily, the impact jarring many bones out of place. Halt continued to knock out limbs until it fell in a hail of crushing bones. He dodged out of range, then ran back in, propelling himself off of a large rib-bone, and landing on the skull with a sickening _crunch_. He turned back to the gaping teen.

"Hurry up lazy-bones!"

Alec snapped out of his daze, ripping the hem of his shirt to wrap his fists, then charged into the fray.

* * *

Will glanced back when Alec called, but ignored the freakish skeletons.

_They can do _that_; __I need to find a way out!_

Running the length of the cavern, Will skidded to a halt at one end of the stream: it flowed swiftly down, disappearing through a submerged outlet. There was no way they could enter the water, even if there was hope of re-surfacing on the other side. To his left, Will noticed the cleft in the rock wall that the skeletons came out of. Peering in apprehensively, Will couldn't see anything coming out. Around him, there were lots of loose shale and rocks from the earthquake. Quickly, he piled the rocks and small boulders as tightly as he could in the entrance of the crevice.

_That'll take care of unwanted company._

Then he continued his search, resisting the urge to look behind him at the battle his mentor and friend were fighting. He had to dodge beneath several of the wandering skeletons, but they never detected him. He reached the other end of the deadly stream, but it too rushed from an unseen opening. Or did it? Will came closer, and noticed that the water flowed in under an archway of stone; whether or not there was a gap between the water and the stone that they could escape through, Will couldn't tell at that distance. Leaning against the wall, he could feel the crevices and rough rocks on the uneven surface. Jamming his fingers into a crevice, he tested his weight on it, then found similar holds for his other hand and feet. Spider-like, he moved along the wall, precariously perched above the swirling water.

An expert in climbing- stone, tree, or otherwise- Will didn't slip even once as he made his way closer to their potential escape route. Or death. He reached the arc, and peered through. The part above water was low, but it extended far beneath the surface; it lead into a short tunnel which gradually ascended until it was about man-height. That is, if there was a floor to stand on. On the far side, there were shallow ledges, and the tunnel extended out of sight.

_Not much, but it's our only chance_

* * *

Alec followed Halt's example, trying to knock out the limbs to get to the skull, being careful not to cut himself further. He even climbed up the ribs of a smaller skeleton like a ladder, and ripped the skull off, throwing it down to the ground. Looking around, he could see there were four of the things left. Halt jumped into action, and Alec followed, rushing to the skeleton on the far left. It had three, massive legs; Alec tried to kick one out, as he'd done to the others, but it was too sturdy. It stomped around him, and he narrowly avoided becoming a corpse himself. A scything arm swooped down, and long hideous fingers grasped him. He was lifted into the air as the breath was squeezed from his lungs. Alec gasped, trying desperately to draw in air. His arms were loose, and he tried to pry himself free, although he would have to drop over fifteen meters to the ground. But to no avail. This was the strongest one he'd fought yet.

Alec looked at the skull of the thing: it had more blood on it than the others. Realizing that he still had a rock clutched in his hand, Alec took aim at the skull. It was knocked flying, and the body temporarily collapsed,as the first one had. With that, Alec fell to the ground, still entrapped in the bones of itshand. He fell heavily, the sharp bones digging into him. The ribcage fell over him, and one of the vertebrae jarred loose, crushing his arm. It pierced his arm on the inside of his elbow, hitting a large artery. Blood poured out, soaking the bones around him. To his horror, the old and dusty bones regenerated and became solid and gleaming. Already the bones drew together, Alec in the midst of them. He scrambled out, his arm hanging awkwardly. Quickly, he spotted the skull and beat it with a rock until it shattered completely.

He looked for Halt; his head wound had partially reopened, and there were still two of the huge things left.

"Halt! Alec! Hurry, this way!"

They both turned to see Will waving for them a short distance away. Alec gritted his teeth and ran, ignoring the lances of pain that shot up his right arm. They ran to the head of the stream, and Will told them about the way out.

"Halt, can you climb your way to it? A bit upward there's a sort of ledge. Not much, but it's easier to shuffle along," said Will.

"Of course I can. But look who got his arm all bloodied up," said Halt irritably. Wounds never put him in a good mood.

"Look at yourself, thick-head! I'm surprised you're bleeding at all, your head's so thick!"

"Watch yourself boy. So far I've let you tag along, but another word and into the stream you go," Halt growled.

"Alec, please, _just get the heck a move on!" _Will said, gesturing to the wall. The two things gradually realized where they were and started to wobble over.

Alec looked away sullenly. "Can't. M' arm popped out," he mumbled.

"I say leave him," growled Halt sarcastically. But only half. Will looked at him pleadingly. Halt raised an eyebrow, but instructed Will. "Do you remember what _other _use I said your strikers could have?" Recognition dawned ad Will removed one of the steel knobs, revealing a spiked end. He pulled out a medium weight rope from the saddle bags over his shoulders, and threaded it through a hole near the attached knob on the strikers. Clutching it in his teeth, Will climbed along the wall, moving up to the ledge he'd mentioned, and rammed the spiked rod into the wall, hammering it with the hilt of his saxe.

While he'd been affixing the strikers, Halt had already climbed to the tunnel and disappeared around the corner. Will threw the rope end down to Alec.

"Tie this around your chest, then wait for me to climb to the tunnel. I'll be waiting there for you, and you have to jump outward so you swing in an arc. I'll catch you as you come around, then you have to find foot-holds." With that, Will scrambled into place as Alec was still saying "What?"

"Will! How do expect me to do this?"

"Just do it!" the skeletons were less than fifty meters away. Alec hastily tied the rope around his chest as tightly as he could, using his teeth to help him, and ran madly to the edge of the stream, closing his eyes as he jumped outward, kicking against the wall to propel himself in a wide arc. He yelled crazily, hardly daring to open his eyes and see the rushing water beneath him.

Will had been clutching the wall on the inside of the tunnel for what seemed an eternity, added to all the climbing he'd done, and his fingers stared to ache horribly. He gritted his teeth and followed Alec's mad flight through the air; as the lanky boy swung to the wall, Will leaned out precariously, barely snagging his fingers in the rope around Alec's chest, pulling him to the wall.

"Grab on! Now!" he shouted.

Alec scrambled to grasp the wall, slipping uneasily. He exhaled loudly.

"Whew! Safe."

"Not yet," said Will "We're still above this stream."

"Will! Get over here and bring that useless-sack-of-potatoes, if you must."

Will and Alec looked to the sound of Halt's voice: the Ranger was a few meters above them to the right,sitting in what looked to be a hollow in the wall.

Exhausted, Will quickly cut the rope from Alec, guiding him slowly across the wall and upward to the small cave. They scrambled in, ignoring grumpy Halt and whatever else might happen to be there, collapsing on the rocky ground.

**There ye go:) Please review**


	9. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer: I do not own Ranger's Apprentice or any of its characters**

**Okay, yes, I know it's been a while and that can be blamed on me because I was the one that kept changing the subject with Mychele when planning it out because I was working on Closer Ties...so yea, sorry bout that but it's up now and I think we'll be trying to be faster with updates but school starts soon for me and has already started for Mychele so maybe not as fast as you like but we shall not give up on this! Okay...onwards**

Alec looked around; his arm was numb with pain as he took in the dim surroundings. The cave was shallow but they were able to stand comfortably. Will had collapsed onto the ground beside Halt, but now he was standing and looking around.

"Get me some bandages," Halt ordered when he placed his hand on his head and it came off red. Will did as he was told hurriedly and went to bandage Halt's head himself, but a glare from his mentor told him not to. "I can handle it," Halt said and took the linen from Will. Looking to see what Alec was up to, Halt saw that he was pulling a pained face. "Go help him with his arm and see if you can get some information out of him," Halt muttered. "We still don't know anything about him." Will nodded and walked away from his mentor.

"Need help?" Will asked and Alec looked at him. His shoulder was throbbing painfully, but he wasn't about to admit weakness where Halt could hear.

"I can handle it," Alec said back. Will shrugged and went to walk away. Alec, not realizing the Ranger would do that, quickly tried to correct his mistake. "Wait," he said so Will could hear. Will turned around. "I suppose I could use a little help."

Will gave his friendly smile as he set to examining the arm. It was definitely dislocated, and they'd have to put it back before they did anything else. "Lie down and relax," Will ordered. Seeing as they had nothing to numb Alec's senses, they'd need to settle for getting him as relaxed as possible. Alec obeyed, wincing as he settled into a comfortable position. When he was settled, Alec took a few deep breaths. "This may hurt a little, but not a lot, just stay calm," Will said, kneeling down beside Alec.

"I'm no baby. I can deal with pain," Alec said, trying to recover from having to ask for help. Will ignored him.

"I'm going to talk to you to distract you, just keep relaxed and let me move your arm," Will ordered. Alec went to nod but thought better and stayed silent. Will began to move his arm upwards so it was angled away from his body and above his head. "So where are you from?" Will questioned. Alec frowned; he didn't want to answer these questions.

"Castle Araluen," Alec answered easily. That part wasn't a lie at least. He gave a yelp as he felt a shooting pain in his shoulder.

"Keep relaxed," Will said sternly and began to bend Alec's elbow so it was like he was reaching for his neck. "So what about your family? They can't have just let you run off in the mountains."

"My parents are dead. They died a while ago and I've been living by myself," Alec explained hurriedly. "I've been living in the castle since, but I don't really fit in there." Will frowned mentally but didn't say anything. Something was off about Alec's story, it just didn't seem…true. The feeling of recognition that had been gnawing at Will bothered him but he couldn't place the boy's face.

"Don't you have any other family?" Will questioned as he raised Alec's head a little so he could place the boy's hand under it. Will sat back for a moment, waiting for a reply.

"Maybe, I don't know. Not at Castle Araluen," Alec answered and winced at his discomfort. Will wanted to ask more questions but realized that they he had to help Alec first.

"Reach for your other shoulder now, you'll feel a pop," Will said. Alec did as he was told and felt a relief of pain as his shoulder went back into place. It was uncomfortable now but not painful. He sat up and rolled his shoulder around to get used to it. Will looked at the cut on Alec's arm and handed the boy some linen. "I trust you know how to do this?" he asked.

"Of course," Alec responded and started bandaging himself while Will went back to Halt, who had a map laid out.

When he was finished with binding the wound, Alec looked around the small cave. His normal curiosity taking over, he stood and walked towards the small tunnel that led out of the cavern. He had to crouch to get into the tunnel, but he fit well. Only a meter or so down the tunnel, a flicker of light in the relative darkness caught his eye. Shuffling to where he had seen the flicker, Alec found a small crevice in the wall. It was small, but he figured he or Will could fit through. Putting his eye against the opening, Alec peered in. Beyond the crevice was a vast looking cave with torches along the walls. Jars were set up on natural shelves, and there was a man pacing in the middle of the room. Alec gave a small laugh as he saw the man was yelling at himself. As the man turned towards the crevice and Alec got a full look at him, he couldn't hold back a bark of laughter at the man's unkempt appearance. He looked like a madman. The pacing man stopped and looked towards the wall; Alec froze as the man made his way towards the crevice. Quickly the boy retreated down the tunnel; he didn't know who that was but he didn't think it'd be a good idea to meet him.

* * *

"What did you find out?" Halt asked in a low tone as Will joined him in looking at the map. Will shrugged.

"Not much, just that he lives in Castle Araluen and his parents are dead," Will answered still didn't feel like Alec had been telling the truth.

Halt frowned. "What?" Will asked.

"When we were fighting the beasts I asked him if he carried a kerchief and he said 'guess I shoulda listened to mum there'," Halt explained and Will frowned as well.

"You think he's lying then?"

"I think that part of it is true," Halt responded and saw an intent face on his apprentice. "You know something." It was more of a statement than a question.

"I've seen him before," Will said thoughtfully; his frown deepened before it cleared. "In the Castle!" Will exclaimed. "When I was wandering around I saw him in a room being chastised. I think he's a nobleman's son. Evanlyn mentioned his name but I can't remember what it was. What he's doing here I have no clue," Will said.

"Neither do I," Halt mumbled as he looked at the map. "I think we're here," he added while pointing to a place on the chart. "If we can get out of these caves and all then we can start back towards the Pass and get out of this damned place."

"What?" Will asked, looking up at his mentor. "What about the mission? Don't we have to finish it?"

"We'll have to come back more prepared. Crowley and I weren't expecting anything this hostile around here. We can record what we've seen, but when we get out of these caves we're heading towards the Pass. Besides, I don't feel like dragging Alec, if that's his name, around. Somebody's probably worried sick at the castle," Halt said in a definite tone.

Will was reluctant to agree as this was his first mission back from Skandia, and he'd been eager to prove how much he'd improved and moved on. It had been challenging deciding to enter the mountains again, but he was beginning to realize that the mountains were just a place. What happened here in the past couldn't be the mountains fault and it really couldn't happen again. Before he could protest however, Alec came barreling out of a small tunnel from the back of the cave. Halt stopped in his task of rolling up the map and glared at the youth.

"What happened to you?" the senior asked. He noticed Alec's somewhat pale appearance.

"Well I went down that tunnel to explore some-"

"That was a smart idea. It seems every time you disappear you bring back monsters," Halt commented in a dry tone. Alec decided to ignore the comment.

"Anyways, there was this fissure in the wall and I looked through. There was this big cave like space and there was this really funny madman pacing in there. I sorta laughed and he heard me and came to look through the hole and I got a little spooked," Alec explained. Halt raised an eyebrow.

"You mean there are other people in these mountains?" Will questioned to confirm it. Alec nodded.

"How big is this hole?" Halt asked.

"Big enough for me or him to fit through," Alec said, motioning towards Will. Halt thought for a moment.

"Will, start packing away the stuff. That tunnel is the only way out of here and I don't fancy sitting here knowing that there's another person, possibly an enemy, in a cave only a few meters away," Halt ordered. Will was tempted to ask if Halt needed to rest but decided not to. Halt didn't seem to be in a good mood at the moment.

When they were ready to move out, the Rangers followed Alec down the narrow and low tunnel until they reached the small crevice. Quietly, Halt set down the few things he'd been carrying and peered through the hole. When he looked back up, he had a frown on and seemed a little angry. He looked at Will and motioned towards the gap.

"It's Alda," he said simply.

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